1/2 shelf placement

How far apart do 1/2 shelves need to be to facilitate air flow and temp eveness? I am considering cutting some full shelves in half, how much material should I take out, how wide a gap between the 2 pieces? I am assuming the outside edges need to stay the same distance from the side walls of the kiln.

Once you stagger the shelves its hard to get it all level again so you can use a full shelf ... well, at least for me!There are no rules for staggering shelves ... it all depends on the work you are trying to load. I make things of all shapes and sizes so my kiln is pretty well always staggered. I think the air flow is better in a staggered kiln but have no hard evidence to support that claim.I use smaller kiln shelves ( from an old, long gone kiln ) to set large pieces on for firing because a full shelf is just too heavy for me to play around with. If I were starting out today I would save all my pennies and buy a front loader!!! It would make everything so much easier.

I have never staggered shelves or left an air gap, and have never had problems. IMO, staggering shelves makes for much less efficient use of space.

That's probably be true, but if you make weirdly shaped things you don't have much choice! I have run into some very strange "rules" about shelf placement that were made by folks who make similarly shaped objects. Not everyone has similar heights or widths so loads have to be extremely mixed.

I have never staggered shelves or left an air gap, and have never had problems. IMO, staggering shelves makes for much less efficient use of space.

Or it could make a far more efficient space depending on what you have to load. For more than 25 yearsI fired classes of work of varying sizes and shapes and sometimes had to reload shelves to get more pieces in as they were carried to the kiln room by hopeful students.I find staggering shelves is more efficient for the way I work. As always, there are no hard and fast rules in clay.

Don't take out any material just stagger the heights. Save the whole shelves for larger pieces that you need to be stable so they won't warp.

Marcia

Had not thought of it that way. I would think that would make loading much harder? Do you treat the space as two seperate stacks untill you need a whole shelf?.

Stagger them by how much?

I fire the kiln to get the most pieces in it. My pieces vary in size and shape usually. My oval doesn't have any round shelves. My smaller kiln has mostly half shelves. Depending on what it being fired, I just put tall pieces of similar size together on a half shelf. If there are a lot of short pieces, I will make it densely packed on one side then go up and densely pack the other side. Always keep the shelf an 1" min. away from your cone or pyrometer.

I have never staggered shelves or left an air gap, and have never had problems. IMO, staggering shelves makes for much less efficient use of space.

Or it could make a far more efficient space depending on what you have to load. For more than 25 yearsI fired classes of work of varying sizes and shapes and sometimes had to reload shelves to get more pieces in as they were carried to the kiln room by hopeful students.I find staggering shelves is more efficient for the way I work. As always, there are no hard and fast rules in clay.

Marcia

Yes indeed. I make pots, lots of similar sizes, so staggering wastes space. But sometimes it is necessary.

I have never staggered shelves or left an air gap, and have never had problems. IMO, staggering shelves makes for much less efficient use of space.

Or it could make a far more efficient space depending on what you have to load. For more than 25 yearsI fired classes of work of varying sizes and shapes and sometimes had to reload shelves to get more pieces in as they were carried to the kiln room by hopeful students.I find staggering shelves is more efficient for the way I work. As always, there are no hard and fast rules in clay.

Marcia

Yes indeed. I make pots, lots of similar sizes, so staggering wastes space. But sometimes it is necessary.

I load my kiln as full as I can, and sometimes that entails a spiral arrangement with my shelves. I do this often when I have a series of plates that seem to over hang in a normal arrangement. The spiral ladder allows me to fire taller objects under the top of the spiral, and plates all around going up each step. As long as it is solid, it really doesn't matter how you stack.

I have never staggered shelves or left an air gap, and have never had problems. IMO, staggering shelves makes for much less efficient use of space.

That's probably be true, but if you make weirdly shaped things you don't have much choice! I have run into some very strange "rules" about shelf placement that were made by folks who make similarly shaped objects. Not everyone has similar heights or widths so loads have to be extremely mixed.

I want a front loader too....after a life of lifting and a bad back...a front loader would be heavenly.